If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing with news this week, from beer releases to festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town — so hold on to your mugs!

Last week, we saw some great beer releases and checked out the Scott’s Addition Booz Crawl, which is coming up this Saturday in Richmond’s booziest neighborhood. We also hit the books again as one of the country’s best beer cities (but we already knew that).

Haaaaallelujah, today is the first official day of this year’s Halloweek! That’s music to our ears at the magazine, because it’s our favorite week of the year. RVA Magazine partners up with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery once a year to bring Richmonders the city’s best in Halloween events, jam-packed with beer, bands, zombies, parties and more on every day leading up to the 31st.

Hardywood first introduced Trickery a few years back as the Halloween season’s go-to brew, and the “deliciously dark” stout has received great feedback every year since: it was even named one of HopCulture’s best beers in the country to drink this fall.

Trickery is all your Halloween dreams wrapped up in one. The 13.5% ABV imperial milk stout is aged in apple-brandy barrels for 8 months, and full of flavors like warm caramel, blackstrap molasses, and chocolate-covered cherries. It’ll be on tap at all three of Hardywood’s locations, and open to take home in to-go bottles if you can’t get enough.

PHOTO: Ardent Craft Ales

In more new booze news, Ardent is releasing their Fall American Sour Blendtomorrow at their Scott’s Addition spot, a copper-colored and medium-bodied blend of sour blonde and Brett IPA. This is one of those patience-is-a-virtue beers — the kind that gets better as it ages in your kitchen, while it gets harder and harder not to open it (and the kind that if you’re like me, ends up opened in a day). It’s dry, balanced, and the “funky characteristic” from Brettanomyces pairs with the oak barrels it’s aged in to bring this beer a light acidity to its taste.

PHOTO: The Answer

After the weekend, Halloweek continues when The Answer Brewpub teams up with the magazine and Hardywood Monday night to put on “Hallobeer,” an annual party at The Answer with music from The Mekong Express, and tracks from Earth, Wind, and Fire. There’ll be special brews on deck as well as costume contests for attendees, so remember what you learned at Hardywood’s FX Workshop and go win some prizes.

PHOTO: Final Gravity

Final Gravity drops a new IPA this Friday with so many Galaxy hops “you’ll feel like you’ve known it from another life.” Down the black hole of Astral Plane, you’ll find citrus, passionfruit, and peach bringing this ethereal IPA together. Give it a try at its release, or swing by the brewery on Sunday for Oktoberfest in Lakeside. They’ll also be dropping their seasonal Kingdoms Rise and serving up some serious sausages from Cafe Rustika, marinated in the Oktoberfest beer. Bless.

PHOTO: Center of the Universe Brewing

Hope you like dogs, because there are TWO beer and pup events coming up this weekend! Center of the Universe Brewing, one of my faves around town, is hosting Growl-O-Ween this Saturday. Grab your pooch, your costume, and your good-time shoes, they say, for a doggone good time (nice). They’ll have musical chairs, photobooths, bobbing for tennis balls (my heart!), and all the proceeds go back to the Friends of Hanover Dog Parks and the Hanover Humane Society. My beagle, Bagel (pre-Richmond famous Bagel), would be in heaven.

PHOTO: Strangeways Brewing

Strangeways is also celebrating the best animal in the world this year, with Barktoberfest this Saturday benefitting shelter and adoption groups like Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC), the Henrico Humane Society and more. The fur-filled fun day is also hosting a doggy costume contest, so if you’re not a dog person already, I suggest (strongly suggest) you make your way there and change your mind (or else). All extra donations go to Adopt RVA, which Strangeways said was “a natural fit,” because “Dogs and cats are like beer. It’s hard to choose just ONE,” and they certainly know their stuff — Strangeways has 36 beers on tap every day.

PHOTO: Legend Brewing Co.

Over at Legend Brewing Company, the Manchester Harvest Festival is right around the corner. The festival’s set for this Saturday, and has food trucks, costume contests (for both kids and adults) and good ol’ Americana music to really get that fall in Virginia feel. Legend has long-been our favorite place across the bridge, and the Harvest Festival is one of the best days of the year there. Make sure to come out and grab a fresh copy of the newest RVA Magazine in print, and wear your costume to get picked by our very own CEO, John Reinhold, who’s judging the contest at the event.

PHOTO: Isley Brewing

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISLEY! The Scott’s Addition brewery turns 5 this Saturday, and they’ll have five birthday infusions on tap to celebrate: a Mango IPA, Orangegasmic porter, coffee-infused Stunt Dubbel, bourbon-aged Fastidious Father, and Boozy Mother. Boozy Mother sounds a little reminiscent of my future. They’ll also have the Bodillaz and Manchu food trucks out for the event, and wine pours from James River Cellars. Head down this weekend and buy yourself a birthday beer on their behalf.

PHOTO: Imbibe Festival

If you’re traveling soon, check out the Imbibe Beer & Arts Festival happening over two weekends in Fredericksburg and Virginia beach. Tons of breweries from around the state are coming out, including Richmond’s Ardent, Legend, Lickinghole Creek, and Strangeways. Some other Commonwealth brewers like Alewerks, Devil’s Backbone, and Starr Hill will make the trip from around the state, for an all-in-one Virginia faves fest with some of the best brews in the country.

PHOTO: Garden Grove

For all the coffee lovers out there, Garden Grove just teamed up with Bright Spot Coffee to make The Empress. It’s part-cold brew, part-beer, and the coffee-infused Robust Porter sounds like the perfect way to start the day fresh all over again in the evening. We’ve got some more coffee brews coming up soon from around town — there’s nothing better in your beer for this time of year. Can’t wait to give this one a try!

That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your new weekly columnist, I’m here to take all your beer releases, event info, ideas and questions. If you’re a brewer, send me your release info at [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing with news this week, from beer releases to festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town — so hold on to your mugs!

Last week, we started into spooky brews and fall flavors as the summer ends. We’ve got more coming up on the Halloween theme, which is music to my ears, and a few warm weather beers to finish out the season.

PHOTO: Three Notch’d Brewing Co.

Stoked to see a good blood orange flavor outside of drinking a San Pellegrino this week (Prickly Pear is the unsung hero there, y’all) with Three Notch’d Brewing Co.’sScream Forest Blood Orange IPA. The Scott’s Addition brewery dropped this new beer last week and had a blast with the photo shoot. It’s brewed in collaboration with Creepy Hollow Scream Park, which, upon further investigation, looks like an awesome haunted house for most adults and about a week’s worth of nightmares for me. Scream Forest is dry hopped with Mosaic hops for a hearty orange favor that’s “bloody delicious,” so swing by Three Notch’d and give it a try. *Lab coats not included.

PHOTO: Legend Brewing Co.

Our friends at Legend Brewing Co. dove into history last weekend with this Norfolk Experiment Imperial Stout. According to Legend (nice), the folklore behind this beer is based on a rumored U.S. Navy experiment during WWII about teleportation and time travel between Philadelphia and Norfolk on the USS Eldridge. In response, the Navy said, “What time travel?” — so conspiracy theorists, now’s your time to shine.

Norfolk Experiment as a beer sounds like a great chilly weather drink, full of coffee, dried fruit, toast malt, and warming alcohol. This 11.6% ABV stout sounds about as intense as its folklore.

PHOTO: The Answer Brewpub

The Answer Brewpub released a major throwback this week with this 80’s Mike Tyson arcade game-inspired IPA, Let’s Get Physical. The collaboration beer with Calusa Brewing from Sarasota, FL showed its roots with fruity Citra and Cascade hops in the kettle, then dry hopped with more herbal Galaxy, Motueka, and Mosaic. It’s “silky smooth” and it’s straight out of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, a 1987 Nintendo boxing video game which had such a cult following to which it’s still revealing secrets 30 years later.

PHOTO: The Veil Brewing Co.

The Veil brought new meaning to cookies and milk this week with their Salted Caramel + Oreo Hornswoggler, a robust chocolate milk stout complete with actual salted caramel and Oreo cookies. It’s making me hungry, and you can check it out this Saturday at their Lager World event for the brewery’s first Oktoberfest-style jammer. They’re also releasing Deathless, a Märzen Lager brewed over three months and fresh to the taps this weekend.

PHOTO: Ardent Craft Ales

Over at Ardent, another end-of-summer brew is on deck with Plum Gose. The wheat-based, kettle-soured gose is perfectly pink. It comes with a touch of saltiness and a pleasant acidity, according to the brewers, in true gose style. Also fresh at the brewery is the collab Baltic Porter with Precarious Beer Project. Taps are running out on the Williamsburg porter visiting RVA, so get ‘em while you can!

That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your new weekly columnist, I’m here to take all your beer releases, event info, ideas and questions. If you’re a brewer, send me your release info at [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

Enjoy a Renaissance “romp” with Queen Elizabeth I and her court, as they arrive at “Richmond Palace” (a.k.a Legend Brewing) in “Richmond-upon-Thames, England” during the Queen’s Royal Progress of 1602. Courtiers, including Lord Robert Dudley, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, Mary Queen of Scots, and many Ladies-in-Waiting, will interact with the Queen for a wry twist on world events. Costumed members of the Richmond Renaissance Dancers will portray the Queen and her courtiers and will also provide period dancing.